The UAE will host the World Association of Nuclear Operators (Wano) biennial general meeting in September next year.
The three-day conference in Abu Dhabi will welcome 120 delegates from more than 30 countries who are responsible for operating more than 430 nuclear energy reactors around the world.
Wano is a non-profit international organisation focused on maximising the safety and reliability of the world's commercial nuclear power plants.
The UAE, the first new nuclear nation in 27 years, is also the first Arab nation to host the biennial meeting, which takes place from September 28 to September 30, 2024.
The announcement follows the appointment of Mohamed Al Hammadi, chief executive and managing director of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, as president of Wano in October.
Mr Al Hammadi will preside over the meeting and drive discussions on nuclear operational safety and reliability.
“Global forecasts highlight the need to double the global nuclear fleet to support the achievement of Net Zero 2050,” Mr Al Hammadi said.
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The UAE has issued an operating licence for the fourth and final unit of its Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant. FANR -
Unit three of Abu Dhabi's Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant started commercial operations in February. Photo: Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation -
A view of the Barakah nuclear site under construction in 2012. -
Unit 1 being built in 2013 in the Western region of Abu Dhabi. -
The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation selected a Korean consortium in 2013 to build four APR-1400 reactors. Photo: Enec -
Kristine Svinicki, head of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, toured the Barakah site in November 2013. Photo: Enec -
By August 2014, more than 55 per cent of construction at Unit 1 had been completed. Photo: Enec -
The first nuclear reactor at Barakah in 2016. Christopher Pike / The National -
The UAE's nuclear energy programme is based in Barakah in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi. Photo: Enec -
Trainees learn to deal with potentially catastrophic scenarios at this simulator in Barakah. Christopher Pike / The National -
Khalid Naqbi was part of the first batch of resident inspectors sent to the construction site by the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation. Ravindranath K / The National
“We therefore must ensure we support newcomer nations and nations expanding their existing fleet to meet the highest standards of nuclear excellence to ensure safe and reliable electricity generation.”
Enec joined Wano in October 2010 and Mr Al Hammadi was elected to the Wano Atlanta Centre Governing Board in August 2015, before being elected as president last year.
Barakah, the Arab world's first nuclear plant, is rapidly taking shape and will be central to the Emirates' ambitious sustainability strategy for years to come.
The fourth and final unit at the plant is nearing the start of its operations.
Enec said last week that the plant's operations team has begun what it calls operational readiness testing, which is required to demonstrate the unit is ready to be licensed by the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation, the UAE’s independent nuclear regulator.
Once commercially operational, Unit 4 will raise the Barakah plant's total clean electricity generation capacity to 5.6 gigawatts, equivalent to 25 per cent of the UAE’s electricity needs, and deliver more than 40 terawatt hours (TWh) of clean electricity a year.
Over the winter the plant met up to 48 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s electricity requirements with zero-carbon electricity.
Enec said gas demand in Abu Dhabi is now at an 11-year low because of the transformation in electricity generation.
